Destroying the Islamic State may be an unrealistic mission, former defense secretary Robert Gates told ABC’s This Week, so he thinks the United States should instead focus on getting the group out of Iraq.
“I think destroying probably is ambitious, at least in the foreseeable future,” Gates said. “But it is a realistic objective to try and push them out of Iraq and deny them a permanent foothold someplace.” Gates noted the United States’ failure to completely wipe out al-Qaeda as evidence of why the total destruction of the Islamic State would be unrealistic.
He also said he thought American troops will need to be put on the ground — in harm’s way — in order to successfully achieve the mission articulated by President Obama.
Comments